Two Different Kinds Of Artists
by Unaltered
Summary: Lacus is a tattoo artist, and René is a bartender. Fate somehow brings them together, in which Lacus gets one of the biggest breaks in his life redesigning Tepes Industries' logo, and René slowly finds himself with more friends, including a blond with too much time on his hand, an angry man with a mohawk, the CEO of a major corporation, and a sassy nurse with her partners.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm lowkey in love with Lacus/René I'm sorry**

 **originally posted to ao3.**

* * *

Lacus really loves alcohol and food and drinks and basically whatever can be consumed into the void that is his stomach. His co-workers, friends, and family have all remarked on it, wondering how he'd managed to stay as thin as he was if all he ever did was eat, eat, eat.

Maybe he just had some lucky genes. Or maybe his stomach was truly a black hole, a complete void, and that was why he was hungry all the time and didn't gain any weight after he ate basically anything. Honestly? Lacus didn't care. So long as he could eat whatever he wanted and still look good, who _did_ care?

It also probably didn't help that he knew three people who all worked in the food industry, which meant he got free food from time to time. There was Mikaela and his boss, Ferid Bathory, who both worked at a steak-and-burger joint near the downtown area. Lacus particularly liked it because it was one of the few restaurants he knew who would keep his meat as rare as he liked it, which other restaurants often considered "basically raw."

Not that Lacus was particularly picky about what he'd eat (he'd consume _anything,_ in fact) but he did have a preference of taste. There was just something so _good_ about extremely rare meat, something he could hardly explain.

Anyhow, he often drove Mika to work since he didn't own a car of his own, and, as a reward, got steaks half off and sometimes got burgers free. Who didn't love free food?

There was also, of course, the brother of his ex-girlfriend from high school, Yoichi, who worked as a pizza delivery boy for the Moon Demon Pizza Company. Not only was the name _really_ cool, but they also served some weird stuff you'd never find on a pizza. In fact, Lacus still had a couple slices left of ravioli pizza at home. It was _delicious._

When your stomach was a black hole that could consume anything and everything and you really loved food a lot and didn't care where you ate, you had a habit of eating different things on a week to week basis. Which is why Lacus was currently at a bar with his friend Mika, having heard from a customer at work that the potato skins here were simply _divine_ _,_ and that on the first of October, there was going to be _free food_.

Who _wouldn't_ go?

The two were currently seated at the bar, Lacus swivelling in his seat and staring up at the TV in the corner while Mika brooded next to him.

"I don't want to be here," Mika mumbled, staring down at his beer. He was boring and simply chose a bottle, with nothing special added to it or anything. Lacus had asked for a Cola/rum/vodka mixture. The bartender had looked at him like he was insane, but gave him the drink anyways.

"You've said that three times now," Lacus held up three fingers to emphasise his point, "We're here to have _fun,_ Mika."

"We're here because you want to eat."

"That just so happens to be a part of 'having fun.'"

"Watching you gorge yourself is nobody's definition of fun," Mika took a sip from his beer, glaring disdainfully at the gleaming, polished surface of the bar. It wasn't too crowded here, as the night was still young, but it was getting kind of rowdy, as the people here seemed to be having fun, and Mika sort of hated loud crowds. He probably thought everyone here was being way too loud even if they were having a good time.

But who cared about what Mika thought? There was going to be free food tonight. Free. Food. Not to mention there was a _really_ cool arcade and many large, HD TV screens. Top all of that off with cheap, good food and a karaoke machine, and you have the perfect recipe for a business success, which is what Progenitor seemed to be.

Lacus has heard about this bar a lot in the past two weeks-it'd been really hyped up online and on posters plastered all around town, supposedly being a really popular bar from larger cities, owned by a very rich woman named Krul Tepes. He'd been thinking about coming to check it out anyways, but what really sealed the deal for him was hearing that the food was extremely delicious.

It was like some sort of rare sight that everyone had to check out before it slipped away-a decent bar with good food, all the while being cheap, opening early and closing late.

"You, my friend, need to evolve out of your little shell of spite and make friends," Lacus poked Mika in the side, grinning at him, "You don't know how to handle people."

"You really think you're one to talk? Lacus, you can't talk to people yourself," Mika deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Lacus pretended to be scandalized.

"Preposterous! Not true! Everyone _loves_ me!"

"You piss people off a lot."

"Do not."

"You have an annoying voice."

"Do not."

"You-"

"Shh shh shh!" Lacus shouted, hand flying to Mika's mouth as he pulled his buzzing phone out of his pocket. His alarm had gone off, signalling that it was now seven o'clock-and time for free food.

"Oooh, siiiiir," Lacus said, leaning forward eagerly, nearly toppling over his Cola/rum/vodka mixture (he should really give it a name, shouldn't he?), "Could I please have some potato skiiiiins?"

The bartender silently wrote something down on a slip of paper before turning around and sliding it through a small window behind him, which Lacus assumed was the kitchen.

"I think bars are a great way to make friends," Lacus told Mika, sipping from his drink, "Well, anyways, what's new with you?"

"I'm still wondering if it's possible to kill someone with a spatula," Mika answered in a serious voice, and Lacus assumed he was referring to Ferid, who often hit on his employees and drove Mika absolutely insane.

"I'm pretty sure it's possible," Lacus hummed, tapping his fingers against the bar, "But I think you should be wondering if it's legal or not."

"I don't even care about legal at this point," Mika drained the rest of his beer before slamming the bottle down on the bar, "I just want to stab his stupid face and-"

"Your potato skins, sir," The bartender said, handing Lacus a small basket.

"Well that was fast," Lacus cheered, instantly reaching for one. It looked delicious-melted cheese and sour cream and bacon...Was there only six in the basket?...He should order some more…

"-feed him to a tank of piranhas," Mika finished as Lacus stuffed two whole potato skins in his mouth. His eyes lit up at the taste, suddenly eager for about a _hundred_ potato skins. These were _good!_ The customer hadn't been kidding!

"Mika, shut up and eat the potato," Lacus said, shoving one into Mika's mouth. Mika gagged and tore the potato skin out of his mouth, trailing sour cream and cheese down his chin.

"I hate going out to eat with you," He mumbled, rubbing his face in his hands, "I have class tomorrow afternoon, too-"

"We're definitely coming back here again," Lacus grinned, and Mika responded sharply with a _"No."_

* * *

Lacus had returned to Progenitor three times since then in two weeks, each time getting the potato skins and a different combination of alcohol (by far, his favorite was orange juice and tequila with blueberry syrup, which he'd ordered as soon as he realized that the bar also had ice-cream and blueberry syrup was a choice for a topping) and was thoroughly enjoying the bar. He planned to try out the karaoke the next time he returned, which he'd planned to be that night.

Doodling in his sketchbook (that was supposed to be strictly for tattoo designs, but whatever) Lacus drew the interior of the bar, with the bartender wiping a glass, blond hair pushed back. A customer slumped over the bar, with a glass in hand. The lighting varying, depending where the strobe lights were shining and flashing…

"Welt, what's all this?" His boss suddenly demanded, seemingly coming out from nowhere and gesturing to Lacus's table, which was covered in styrofoam ramen cups.

"Ahaha, you see, I sort of...Forgot...To clean up…" Lacus said, instantly beginning to gather up the trash in one hand. Few people scared Lacus (not because he was brave or anything, but he just had such a laidback attitude to everything that it took a lot to get him worked up) but his boss, Fujikage-san, terrified him. He was large, muscular, and covered, head to foot, in various tattoos. Lacus wasn't even sure what some of them _were_. He knew next to nothing about his boss, only his surname and the fact that whenever he entered the room, he instantly made Lacus feel like wanting to become a better person in life so he wouldn't get angry at him.

Even more terrifying than his boss, however, was the owner of the tattoo company-Lest Karr, who was really short and young-looking, seemingly non-threatening, but the way he spoke and the air he gave off whenever he visited sort of freaked Lacus out. His co-workers, Sachiko, Riku, and Cleon seemed to be uneasy as well whenever Lest came by, but whenever Lacus asked them about it, they all ignored him.

Currently, Cleon was working the registers while the rest of them lazed around, doing absolutely nothing, waiting for a customer or _something._

Lacus had dropped out of college midway, feeling too lazy to actually attend any of his classes, and had been particularly interested in drawing and art. He didn't really know what he wanted to do, but his sort-of-ex-girlfriend and ex-co-worker, Tomoe, suggested the tattoo parlor for him. Drawing and designing seemed cool enough, so he'd filled out an application and practiced on leather.

Now, he was sort of regretting the decision. The designing and actual tattoo part was cool, but it just seemed really boring any other time of the day. Piercings seemed to be more popular than tattoos right now, anyways, but the others often shot down his ideas of "Let's do piercings, too!"

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and Lacus took it out, dumping the styrofoam cups in the trashcan.

 **Mika-Mika:** I'm going to kill Ferid. I'm going to hide his body at your place. Cover him in tattoos. Make him unrecognizable. The police will never know.

 **Me:** mikaaaaa no i dont have enough ink

 **Mika-Mika:** Steal some from work.

 **Me:** dude no id get fired

 **Mika-Mika:** Okay the downside is that you'd get fired but the upside is that you'd never hear from Ferid again? Please consider this.

 **Me:** well ferid supplies like half of my free food at lifeblood so nah

 **Mika-Mika:** Fuck.

 **Me:** sounds like you need a driNK! :DDDDDDD

 **Mika-Mika:** I don't need a drink.

 **Me:** :DDDDDDD

 **Mika-Mika:** I'm not going to Progenitor with you ever again.

 **Me:** :DDDDDDDD

 **Mika-Mika:** I'm not going ANYWHERE with you ever again.

 **Me:** DDDDDDD:

 **Mika-Mika:** Ugh. Fine. But you're paying.

"WELT! GET BACK TO WORK!" Fujikage shouted from the back office.

"What work, though?" Lacus rolled his eyes, but squeaked in fear when he saw Fujikage peer out of the office with a scary look on his face. "I mean, sir yes sir, I'm working, now! Working!"

* * *

There was something different about Progenitor, this time.

The colorful strobe lights, the polished bar, the comfortable seats and the potato skins were all the same, but instead of the blond bartender that had been there since Lacus first came, it was a taller man with black hair and red eyes, the hair on the side of his head pulled back with some sort of hairclip...Or a headband? Lacus honestly couldn't tell.

Besides, he had totally weird red eyes. Lacus's eyes often got mistaken for red (they were _amber,_ by the way, which _sort of_ looked red in certain lighting) but Lacus had never actually seen red eyes before.

 _Man, they're totally weird!_ He thought, but then instantly chided himself.

 _Shut up Lacus, you have purple hair._

"Saké mixed with root beer and whiskey, pleeeease," Lacus said excitedly as he and Mika sat the bar. Surprisingly, the bartender did not give him a strange look or do a double-take, and instead set to work on making the drink.

"Mojito, please. And how could you drink that?" Mika glared at the mixture being made, a look of disgust forming on his face, "You order the strangest things, Lacus."

"I know no bounds," Lacus bragged as the bartender slid the drink over to him silently, "Hey, you're new. Who're you?"

"I'm not new, I've been working here for a couple of weeks, now," The bartender answered, getting to work on Mika's-totally boring-mojito cocktail. "This is my first Friday shift. Me and Kida's schedules got flipped."

"Kida's the blond dude, right?" Lacus asked, gesturing to Mika, "Like this, but darker?"

The bartender nodded.

"Ah, well, if your schedules got flipped, guess you're gonna be here every Friday from now on," Lacus grinned, sipping from his drink. Hmm. Not his favorite, but good enough. "Ah, I'm Lacus. I'll be coming here often. The potato skins are totally the best."

"René," The bartender said, before sliding the mojito over to Mika, who instantly drained about half of it.

"Mika, there's a straw for a reason."

"Lacus, I had a long day today."

"You've been very talkative recently, even if you're only complaining about Ferid. I think you need a pizza."

"I don't need a pizza."

"You're coming to my house. _And we're ordering a pizza._ "

"I don't want a pizza, Lacus."

"Moon Demon Pizza Company Special, blood oranges and sausage!"

"Who puts _blood oranges_ on a pizza?!" Mika exclaimed, reeling away from Lacus's gleeful face, "That sounds _disgusting!_ "

"It's not, though," Lacus insisted, scooting closer to his blond friend, "I promise, Mikaaa!"

"That's what you said about the spaghetti pie. Do you remember the spaghetti pie, Lacus? Because I do. I remember the spaghetti pie."

"Actually, the blood orange pizza is quite good," René spoke up, taking an empty glass from another man and beginning to wipe it with a washcloth. Lacus pointed at René, grinning, and said,

"You. I like you. See? He agrees with me, Mika! It's totally delicious!"

Mika didn't respond for a while after that, instead drinking from his mojito and glaring up at the strobe lights. Lacus had planned to try out the karaoke machine today, but he supposed that could wait. Mika needed a pizza. And a movie. Possibly some more drinks.

"I guess we'll go home, then," Lacus said as soon as he finished his drink (and the potato skins), patting Mika on the back, "By the way, I'm like, ninety percent sure my landlord is about to kick me out because I missed another payment, so there's boxes everywhere. But I'm sure you'll feel better with some pizza and a movie!"

Mika let out a strange noise that was somewhere between a scream, a sob, and a laugh. The two stood up (Mika, begrudgingly) and Lacus waved to René. He seemed pretty interesting. They even liked the same pizza company, apparently. Totally cool, right? But René wasn't very important, right now. What was important was getting Mika a pizza.

* * *

The flats Lacus lived in were pretty run-down compared to the surrounding area, but they were still decent. Currently, his living room was full of boxes he'd pulled out in case he needed to start packing things and crash at Ferid's (again) but he'd procrastinated actually doing it. He could probably make enough money to pay for the missed payments and this month's payment, and avoid crawling back to his landlord begging to get his flat back (again).

"Pick a movie," Lacus ordered, pointing to the small bookshelf near the TV, where his DVDs were all lined up in what had once been alphabetical order, but somewhere along the way the O's got mixed up with the Q's and the R's were before the D's, so now it was just a big mess. He had the Moon Demon Pizza Company on speed dial, and it only took one ring before someone picked up.

"Hello, Lacus."

"Aww, Mitsuba, is that you? How'd you know it was me?"

"I've seen your number on the ID screen enough to recognize it as soon as I see it." Came an unimpressed voice.

"You make that sound bad," Lacus grinned, "Anyways, I'd like to order the Moon Demon Pizza Company Special, please~!"

"We're all out of blood oranges."

"Oh," Lacus deflated, suddenly discouraged. He turned to Mika and said, "They're all out of blood oranges, dude."

Mika let out a noise that might've been triumphant as he boredly searched through the movies.

"Want something else?" Mitsuba asked.

"Hmmm…" Lacus hummed, leaning against the wall. Well, he had really wanted the special, but if they were out... "Surprise me!"


	2. Chapter 2

Mika eventually chose Zombieland as the movie they would be viewing that night. Lacus had honestly seen it four hundred times (roughly) and seeing all the red blood reminded him of pizza and spaghetti sauce. So it was perfect for tonight!

However, when he told Mika this fact, for some odd reason, the blond scooted away from him on the couch, looking a little weirded out.

Oh well.

Settling down against the arm of the couch, Lacus repeated the rules of the apocalypse straight from memory, Mika muttering something incoherent as he did so. Honestly, Lacus would probably die in an apocalypse, due to lack of normal food. He might be able to live off non-perishables for a while, but soon he'd start craving for a hamburger or a Moon Demon Pizza Company Special. He'd die shortly.

Just as Tallahasse offered Columbus a ride in the movie, Lacus felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and pulled it out to see that, to his delight, his friend(?) had texted him.

 **Shiro:** hey u fuck i wanna tat tmrw 2 schedule me ok.

 **Me:** ah my ever so lovely customer shiro! im so glad you remembered my schedule and knew that was exactly when my lunch break was! 3

 **Shiro:** im getting a tat tmrw whether u like it or not.

 **Shiro:** and its SEISHIRO. if u keep callin me shiro im gonna shove a cactus up ur ass.

 **Me:** fine but only because you are my beloved friend and customer

 **Shiro:** forget a cactus im gonna shove an entire CAR. up ur lil ass. watch me.

 **Me:** okie dokie see you tomorrow my bro friend buddy chum pal

 **Shiro:** ill shove the entire cntry of AUSTRALIA up ur ass.

"Who are you texting?" Mika asked in a disinterested voice, glancing towards Lacus, "Someone from work?"

"Nah, customer of mine that comes in about every week," Lacus answered, sliding his phone back into his pocket, "The pizza should be here by now, they normally come really fast…"

"You're probably their only customer, that's why," Mika said.

"Nah-uh, mister bartender dude said he ate their pizza too," Lacus stuck his tongue out at Mika, "Wait, we're getting to the part where they're fuckin' scammed by Wichita and Little Rock, we gotta watch this."

However, as soon as he stated this, there was a knock on the door, and he didn't know if he should be excited at the prospect of food or slightly disappointed because it interrupted one of his favorite scenes of the movie. Oh well. It was pizza, so he couldn't complain.

"Oh helloooooo-" Lacus sang as he opened the door, but stopped when he was met with a new face. He'd been expecting either Shinoa or Yoichi, as they were really the only ones who seemed able to put up with him, but instead saw a black haired boy with bright green eyes.

"...Who the fuck are you?" Lacus asked, staring at him. The boy's brows furrowed as he shoved the pizza into Lacus's chest.

"I'm your delivery guy," He said, before pointing to his name tag, "I'm Yuu. Just started working here. Also, I chose what to put on your pizza, so you're welcome."

"Ahh, you did?" Lacus's attention was averted to the pizza box in his hands. Smelled delicious...And also...A bit strange?

"It's totally good," Yuu boasted, puffing his chest out proudly, "Can I have a tip?"

"What did you put on it?" Lacus questioned, trying to figure out what the strange smell was.

"Spicy chicken nuggets."

There was a pause.

"...I'm sorry?" Lacus was sure he'd misheard him.

"Spicy chicken nuggets."

"You put _what_ on the pizza?" Mika asked, suddenly appearing by Lacus, but he froze at the sight of Yuu. There was a long pause, and Lacus suddenly felt as if he were intruding for whatever reason.

"I'm Yuu," Yuu said pointlessly.

"Mika," Mika responded, shoving Lacus out of the way and extending his hand to Yuu, who took it, "I've seen this guy order pizza from you guys a bunch, but I don't think I've ever seen you before…?"

"Just started working here," Yuu repeated. Mika nodded in understanding. Lacus, however, was busy extracting a slice of pizza from the box without dropping it, wanting to see how it tasted. Sure enough, there were spicy chicken nuggets on top of the pizza, and a couple of bites later told him that…

...It wasn't half bad?

"Meeeka ohmahgad ish sho gud!" Lacus said around a mouthful of pizza, and when Mika suddenly recoiled from him, as if just remembering he were here, he nearly laughed, though all the food prevented him from doing so. He swallowed heavily, before saying, "Mika, you gotta try it! It's so good!"

"It...Ah…" Mika looked at the pizza, eyebrows drawing together, "Yuu-chan picked out the topping?"

"Eh?! _Chan?!_ Why _chan?!_ " Yuu asked indignantly.

Lacus shoved the rest of his slice into Mika's face, encouraging him to take a bit. Mika looked a bit worried at the topping, and extremely wary.

"Do I have to, Lacus…?" He groaned.

"Come on, man, I fought tooth and nail to have that topping as an option!" Yuu complained, crossing his arms, "Just a bite? Tell me how it tastes!"

Mika looked as if he was seriously regretting the life choices he had made that had led him to this very situation (befriending Lacus was probably number one at this point) as he took the slice reluctantly from Lacus's hand. After a silent moment of staring down at the slice, Mika took a couple of bites.

"So it's good, right? Can I have a tip? Stupid Guren says we don't get tips, but I could totally use a tip," Yuu said, leaning into Lacus's apartment with a look of eagerness on his face, "Dude, help me out please, I really need a tip."

"I only have enough money for the pizza," Lacus said apologetically, though his imagination was already running wild. He was so going to devour this entire pizza in _minutes._

"I can tip him!" Mika said, before rushing away. Lacus almost felt like laughing. Mika _never_ acted like this. Yuu flashed a large grin, which seemed to mirror the one on Lacus's own face because hell yeah, food.

Later, after they had paid and tipped Yuu, sitting in front of the TV with pizza in hand, Lacus turned to Mika and asked,

"Could you be _more gay?_ "

"Shut up," Mika growled, shoving half of his slice into his mouth.

* * *

René wondered what he did to end up here.

It's not really like he'd _tried_ to end up here. Or anywhere else, really. He hadn't really tried to end up anywhere. But he did know he didn't want to do this for long.

Graduating high school at the age of seventeen and lounging around his house, not knowing to what to do with his future, hadn't pleased either of his parents. He'd skipped freshman and sophomore year, and didn't necessarily want to attend college. He didn't know what he wanted to _do._ He didn't want to be an engineer like his father or a florist like his mother.

He didn't want to go to college.

But his parents had told him one thing- _Go to college or we kick you out._

So he'd made what seemed like the best possible choice at the time-he often made food for himself and younger siblings when his parents were out, and rather enjoyed doing it sometimes. So why not take it a step further and go to _culinary school?_

And it'd been hell.

He didn't like it. Didn't really care _how_ to fry mushrooms or the perks of some-or-other type of seaweed on sushi. But it was either this, or get kicked out of his parent's house, which seemed like a horrible option at the time.

Now, he was glad to be out.

But even if he hated his classes and wished this wasn't what he had chosen, he still learned it, and René hoped it could at _least_ land him a decent job. It's not like he was asking to be a chef at a five-star-restaurant, but he didn't want to work at _McDonald's,_ either.

He'd applied as a soup chef at a café near his apartment and even considered a bakery that was farther away from his house, but seemingly cleaned well. What had caught his attention, though, were the advertisements seemingly plastered all around town. He was getting to know the town by walking around it, largely unfamiliar with it as he'd grown up in a larger city over two hundred miles away, when he noticed the bright posters everywhere.

They were hiring bartenders and the like at this new bar, Progenitor, and wow, the pay didn't look bad at all. Nearly thirteen bucks an hour-for eight hours, bi-weekly paychecks...If he'd done the math correctly, that's two thousand dollars every two weeks.

So obviously, René applied.

And now he was wondering if he should regret his decision.

Eyeing a patron who had just downed an entire bottle of beer within seconds and then proceeded to scream with either rage or fear, René was wondering if perhaps this hadn't been the brightest idea. Of course, he'd stopped to consider what working in bar would mean-loud, drunk people and possibly having to interact with them. But the 12.75 per hour pay fogged his mind a little, calling to him. _Who cared if you were surrounded by drunk idiots for eight hours a day?! Two thousand dollars bi-weekly!_

So, temporarily ignoring his own social skills and lack of mixing knowledge, René was hired and then taught how to mix drinks by Kida, who was apparently an expert in mixology.

"Mixology's an art," Kida said seriously, filling a champagne flute halfway with sparkling wine, eyes intense. His eyes could be looking elsewhere but his hands moved quickly, smoothly, and professionally as he topped the drink with orange juice, successfully mixing a mimosa. "You've got to get the right amount. Not shake it too much or too little. Even if it out."

"It's just mixing drinks," René had said, only to receive a whack on the back of his head. Anyhow, he learned quickly, and by the second week of being hired, was already making a cosmopolitan cocktail with ease, the cocktail shaker in hand holding whatever needed for the drink. Some people watched him with awe, others barely gave him a second glance.

It was whatever.

Most people didn't talk to him. They usually came with friends, so why would they speak to the bartender? But it was fine, because René wasn't really all that great at anything that wasn't practiced and professional polite conversation. His lack of friends and irritated ex-college roommate proved that. Sometimes he'd add to a conversation if he felt like he was coming off as too rude (didn't want a customer complaint, now, did he?) but mostly just stood there and mixed drinks.

Today, however, a purple-haired man with amber eyes and long eyelashes asked him who he was.

René probably should've expected it somewhat, seeing as he wasn't usually there on Fridays, but it still came up a bit as a shock.

Well, it's not like he had to say much else besides his name, right?

"René," He said, moving the mojito to the blond-haired guy who looked barely of legal drinking age. Kid probably just turned eighteen.

The kid instantly downed half of it, ignoring the straw placed inside. René almost felt bad for him. What kind of stress did he go through to down the drink like that?

His purple-haired friend made a jibe, and the kid responded sharply. They went back and forth at it, the purple-haired one (he said his name was Lacus, right?) talking in a teasing tone and the blond (Mika, apparently) talking back in a dry voice.

René realized he'd been staring a little too long at them going back and forth, and turned his head away, mentally berating himself. He'd done this too often. Crap, what if they'd noticed him staring without saying anything? Did they think him rude?

Oh, please please, no customer complaint. 12.75 an hour is too good to drop.

The name of a certain pizza company and their special caught his ears, and in an attempt to appear polite, said,

"Actually, the blood orange pizza is quite good."

Instantly, their eyes flickered to him just as his own landed on an empty glass near a customer, so he leaned across the bar to grab it, glad he didn't have to look them directly in the eyes in case he'd been rude by making a comment. Crap. He was already feeling tense. _Again._

However, surprisingly, Lacus pointed at him and said,

"You. I like you."

He turned to his friend to say something else, but René tuned out their conversation, because he already feels out-socialized for today, he's reached his limit.

His shift is from six to two in the morning, so he helps close up along with six or seven other workers. The manager is a rather creepy-looking guy with the surname of Wesker (which René had mistaken for _Whisker_ at first and damn, that'd been embarrassing) and he's the one who always locks the doors, so René usually leaves shortly after clearing up the bar and whatever else needed to be done.

René liked the city at night. Sanguinem was quiet and almost trance-like at night, surreal. The streets were usually busy during the day, and seeing them empty and lit by the street lights was soothing to him, somehow. He'd always liked the quiet.

His apartment wasn't anything special, and the pipes leaked half the damn time, but René didn't particularly mind. He just slept on his bed until eleven in the afternoon and maybe went for a walk. Maybe he should get a dog. That'd keep him busy, right? Then there wouldn't be such a period of "eh" between eleven and six.

He wondered if there was a decent tattoo parlor or such around here. He's always wanted to get one, and now that he's finally got his apartment and job, now seems like a good time to do it.

Maybe he should get a cat instead of a dog. Maybe that would be nicer…

With these random and seemingly unrelated thoughts floating around in his head like wisps of smoke, René fell asleep as soon as his back hit his bed.

* * *

René meets purple-haired guy two more times after that before actually speaking to him properly, and that's because he has a question for him.

Both times, Lacus had smiled at him, made a few comments, and even laughed once when he'd replied back in a monotone, and then proceeded to devour a basket of potato skins. Both times he came with a friend-the first time with a girl with purple hair and amber eyes (siblings, maybe?) and another blonde girl, as well as a brunet. Lacus had told them that the place had amazing potato skins, and then proceeded to point at René and say, "This is the bartender guy. He makes me drinks, which is cool, 'cos who else in town would make me an orange-and-tequila Red Bull mixture?"

René only remembered one of their names, which was Yoichi, and only because of the way Lacus said it, which was "YOOOOOOO-itchy!"

He had other interesting customers, too. Once, a blond guy had smoked a _pipe_ in front of him for about 2 hours and made smoke rings. But Lacus was the only one who spoke to him on more than one occasion. And, of course, his strange drink orders left an impression on him.

The second time Lacus came, it was with a man with long, silvery hair and another man who was extremely muscular, his hair different colors. René didn't really like the feeling the silver-haired one gave off, but chose not to say anything as he simply passed him a glass of whiskey. The muscled man asked for flaming Dr. Pepper shots, though, which René actually liked doing, so he set to work on those.

"Oh yeah, René is like, the greatest bartender I know."

"How many bartenders do you know, Lacus?"

"Like. One and a half."

"Who's the half?"

"Uh...That blond guy? With the glass? Shizzy or whatever? With the anger issues? Yeah, him. But he threatened to shove his foot up my ass if I asked for anything off-menu again."

René wants to snort, but right now he's holding flaming alcoholic drinks, so that's probably not a good idea.

The next time Lacus comes is when René actually starts conversation first, and that's because he sees the notebook Lacus has in hand. He flipped through it, brow furrowed, before stopping on some sort of weird sigil that's halfway sketched. He simply ordered a Diamondback cocktail, which makes René pause and almost ask him if something was wrong, before deciding against it.

Lacus doesn't even order food. Sure, René's only met him about a grand total of three times, but from the conversations he's overheard, the guy has a real stomach. The past three times he's ordered the potato skins, and wasn't he just saying they were amazing a week and a half ago?

But Lacus was focused on his sketchbook, while occasionally taking sips from his cocktail. René's almost afraid he's going to spill some on the page.

The bar soon fills up with more patrons, and René tended to all of them as the sound of someone singing horribly off-key to some pop song plays in the background. Great, the karaoke machine is working again. What a joy.

The bar slowly emptied out as the night goes on. It was raining hard outside, so most people leave to not get too caught up in it in case it gets worse.

Lacus hadn't even finished his cocktail and is still focused intently on the sketchbook, as if attempting to burn it to flame with his eyes alone. It's too quiet, and it's a little uncomfortable and making René tense up again, so he cleared his throat as he washed the cocktail shaker and asked,

"Did you draw that?"

Lacus nodded intensely, biting down hard on his pen. He looked ready to stab himself in the chest with it.

"Er…" René glanced up, searching for any other patrons that needed attending. The only other customers were a couple playing at the arcade and a few older gentlemen sitting in silence down the end. Crap. He's got nothing to do. He's gotta say something. Can't be too awkward. That's bad. Being awkward is bad. That leads to a customer complaint. He's already gotten one already, for 'staring too intensely.' What if he got another, and got _fired?_

Realizing he was freaking out over nothing, René cleared his throat and set aside the now-clean cocktail shaker.

"What's it for?"

"Buddy of mine gets a tattoo every week. He's running low on ideas. I'm in charge of brainstorming." Lacus rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth pull up a bit, "Yay me."

"Oh? You're a tattoo artist?" René asked, but one of the older gentlemen down the bar taps his fingers against his glass, asking for another glass. He heard Lacus mutter something incoherent as he poured the man more saké, before turning around to face him again. Lacus had lifted his sketchbook up to show him the nearly-completed sketch, which reminded René of something a Satanist would wear.

"Whaddya think?" Lacus asked, pointing at the flame designs encircling it, "Too edgy, or…?"

"I think it's a bit dramatic," René said honestly, and nearly kicked himself for his tone coming across as rude until Lacus laughed.

"Shiro's a dramatic person. It's great, then."

"Do you just design the tattoos, or…?" René's voice trailed off as Lacus closed his sketchbook, seemingly happier than before.

"I do the actual inking stuff, too, but the design part is probably my favorite. We don't get a whole lot of customers, anyways," Lacus said, getting to his feet and stretching, "Why, were you interested in getting a tattoo?"

René paused from his action of taking Lacus's presumably abandoned glass, before nodding silently. Lacus whipped his phone out immediately, grinning.

"Aw, sweet, give me your phone number!" He held it out to René, who stared down at it, "Things will get a little more interesting if I get a customer more than once a week. Drop by sometime, alright? I'll text you tomorrow!"

"You want me to…?"

"Yeah, just drop your number in."

René stared blankly at the phone for a few more seconds before taking it. He had to pull out his own phone as well, not used to giving out his number and therefore feeling no actual need to memorize it. After placing his number in Lacus's phone, he handed it back to the purple-haired man, who's pen was now stuck behind his ear.

"Great!" Lacus beamed at René, who didn't know what to do back besides stare, "Man, I'm excited. Another customer, and he's the bartender, too. If I gave you a free tattoo, would you give me a free drink? Also, hey, could I have some potato skins to go?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Me:** hello! this is lacus, that really good-looking purple haired guy from the bar

 **Me:** but you knew that already of course rene

 **René:** René.

 **Me:** tomato, tomato

 **Me:** so i know its been about 2 or 3 days since youve given me your number but if youre ready im willing to talk about appointments right now

 **Me:** while i have nothing to do

 **Me:** if you have an appointment and/or tattoo idea in mind you can tell me

 **Me:** preferrably now

 **René:** I actually haven't really figured it out yet.

 **Me:** oh ok thats fine

 **Me:** well ill do what i usually do with customers of your caliber

 **Me:** meet me up somewhere for coffee or something?

 **Me:** the more i know about a person, the easier it is for me to design somethin

 **René:** I'm not really sure of that yet. I'm not one for meeting with people.

 **Me:** thats fine too we can do this over texting instead

 **Me:** itll probably be more difficult though

 **Me:** now i cant eat and draw at the same time

 **Me:** now i have to text and eat and draw and wait for ur reply all at the same time

 **René:** Are you attempting to guilt trip me?

 **Me:** what no thatd be unprofessional

 **Me:** and in that case

 **Me:** yes

 **Me:** yes im trying to guilt trip you

 **René:** At least you're honest.

 **René:** If it would really make things easier (and quicker), sure, I'm willing to meet up for coffee or something.

 **Me:** hells yeah

 **Me:** are you free

 **Me:** next sunday

 **Me:** at noon o'clock

 **René:** Yes, I am free at 12 o'clock.

 **Me:** noon o'clock. you gotta say it

 **René:** Okay, I am free at noon o'clock.

 **Me:** attaboy

* * *

"What do you think?" Lacus asked blearily, shoving his sketchbook in Seishiro's face. The man squinted down at it, before glancing towards Lacus.

"It's pretty dramatic." He said.

"Oh great," Lacus said, nodding and feeling accomplished, "It definitely _is_ perfect, then."

"What're you trying to say?"

"Me? I'm not trying to say anything!"

"Really? You sure? 'Cause you know, I can _fuck you u_ -"

"Good afternoon," A voice suddenly said, and the two whipped around to see a very short man with strangely colored hair-one half was auburn and the other half, silver. He appeared extremely young, but that didn't make him any less threatening.

Seishiro just stared at him, and Lacus thanked the gods for the convenience that the tattoo parlor's owner was doing his monthly visit today, before Seishiro could snap one of his needles. Again.

Fujikage exited from his office, craning his neck to look down at Lest. There was nearly two feet of height difference between them, with Lest being extremely short-somewhere under four foot eight. While people normally looked tiny compared to Fujikage (the man was huge, almost a foot taller than Lacus himself, and Lacus was _five foot nine_ ) Lest looked minuscule, like a small child.

However, Lacus was almost 99% sure Fujikage-san was just as afraid of Lest as the rest of them were.

"That's the owner, isn't it?" Seishiro cocked his head to the side, before snickering, "Kinda tiny. Tinier than you."

"Dude," Lacus frowned, offended, "I'm only two inches shorter than you."

"Tiny."

"Fuck off."

"I believe I just heard someone call me tiny," Lest said, his head turning to the two men, smiling. Lacus straightened up, back as straight as a rod, and even Seishiro stiffened under the gaze of the owner.

"Nobody called you tiny, Mr. Karr, sir." Lacus said, nearly saluting the man as he did so, feeling as if he were in the military.

Lest continued to smile, and god damn, Lacus couldn't read anything in his face or eyes, and wasn't that just scary. What was intimidating was the unknown. And Lest was certainly an unknown.

"I'm just...I'm going to get back to work now, sir," Lacus said hurriedly, scrambling for his sketchbook and supplies, "Uhhh, Seishiro, you signed the paperwork, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Seishiro said, turning away from the tiny man, "Been through this a million fucking times, blah blah blah we are not responsible for-"

"Great, let's go-to the-room now, yep, let's go," Lacus grabbed Seishiro's arm and dragged him away from the terrifying owner and into a room set to the side for those who wished to get their tattoo in privacy or in a spot that required taking off their pants or such.

"I put the design through the thermal fax earlier already, by the way, so just...Clean," Lacus instructed, handing a towelette and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol to Seishiro, who was already taking his shirt off. Taking his own jacket off and pulling on latex gloves, Lacus began to prepare the machine in the room, as well as a needle, making sure it was thoroughly cleaned. The second time he gave a tattoo, he nearly used the same needle as he had for his first customer, resulting in Sachiko almost having a heart attack, Fujikage screaming at him, and the customer looking thoroughly confused and also, slightly terrified.

The tattoo process was quick-the stencil was put onto Seishiro's skin after it had been washed and then shaved, the small area between his bellybutton and pecs blank and void of any markings, unlike his chest, which was covered in wing-like designs Lacus had worked on nearly two months previously.

"Is this going to be black like the rest of your boring-ass tattoos or do you want to add some color?" Lacus asked as he did the linework, focusing on the needle. Seishiro hardly squirmed as he leaned against the bench, though Lacus could hear him take steadying breaths.

"It's going to be black, like the rest of my boring-ass tattoos that you inked, dickhole."

"Ooh, dickhole. Promotion from asshole. I've been blessed."

Lacus switched out the regular needle for one of the mags as he set to work coloring the flame-like designs black, and soon, finished. Lacus began cleaning his aera up after throwing a hot towel to Seishiro's face, who began rubbing at the new tattoo, flinching slightly.

"Okie dokie, picture time!" Lacus said cheerfully, and Seishiro groaned, but stood up anyways, keeping his back straight, making his chest and stomach clear. Lacus took a picture, making a mental note to have it printed later for his portfolio, before grabbing a small tube of vaseline.

"You want me to massage your stomach?" Lacus asked sarcastically.

"I'll kick your ass so hard your dick will come out of your mouth."

"A lot of your insults include the word 'dick', Shiro. There something you not telling me…?"

* * *

"...and then he threw the hot towel at my face and I nearly dropped my needles," Lacus finished as he shoved a brownie into his mouth. Yoichi blinked at him, about to comment on the fact that those brownies had been made for him by sister, but deciding not to.

"Sounds like you had a busy day," Shinoa said from the counter, looking bored as she tapped the register absentmindedly, "Busier than ours, at least. Like, nothing has happened."

"I can tell," Lacus said, gesturing to the empty pizza parlor, "Oh yeah, by the way, where's spicy chicken nugget guy?"

"In the back," Shinoa said, "Why?"

"I think Mika has a _thing_ for him. He called him...Um...Yuu-chan, I think. _Yuu-chan._ " Lacus shook his head, "How gay can you get?"

"He's surpassed Kimizuki in those levels," Shinoa nodded, smirking, "It's over nine-"

A towel came hurtling out of the kitchen and smacked Shinoa right in the back of her head.

"I see Kimizuki heard me," Shinoa giggled as the door to the parlor opened, and Mitsuba stepped inside, shivering from the cold.

"Please tell me we don't have anymore deliveries," Mitsuba said, her face contorting, "If I have to smell _another_ bubblegum pi-"

"We have no orders, currently," Shinoa sighed, before spreading her arms wide, "We do have Lacus, though. How do you think he would taste on a pizza?"

"Disgusting," Mitsuba said without missing a beat.

"I'm sure you'd taste lovely, Mitsu," Lacus said, leaning back in his chair and giving the blond a grin, "Shinoa would probably taste of cheese and sass-"

"Thank you!"

"Yoichi would probably be really sweet, like red velvet or something-if you're anything like Tomoe tastes, anyways-"

"What?!" Yoichi said, face turning red.

"Guren would probably taste of coffee," Shinoa said, lifting herself onto the counter and sitting on it as Mitsuba walked into the back room, "He consumes to much it's probably a part of his blood right now. And Kimizuki would taste like roadkill or-"

Another towel flew from the kitchen-this time, Shinoa ducked and it hit the wall, instead.

"Missed me!" Shinoa sang. Lacus proceeded to eat another brownie, munching on it as he thought of the past few days. He'd finally managed to pay his landlord back for his missed payments, as well as this month's rent when he'd received an envelope full of cash from his mother. He should probably call her or text her or something…

"Lacus? You okay?" Yoichi asked, bringing Lacus back to Earth.

"Eh? Oh, yep, totally fine," Lacus grabbed two more brownies from the container, and then got to his feet, stretching, "I'm actually going to head out, now. It's almost eight. See ya."

"You want a pizza or something?" Shinoa called after him.

"Nah, there's a Thai noodle place I wanna try out!"

* * *

On his way to the noodle restaurant he'd accidentally stumbled upon on his way to the gym a week previously, Lacus extracted his phone from his pocket and dialed his mother's number. The phone rang twice before she picked it up.

"Lacus!" She said as she did so, her voice filled with excitement.

"'Sup, Ma," Lacus said, crossing the street and nearly getting hit by a car as he did so. Flipping the driver off angrily, he continued his trek through town.

"I've been expecting you to call."

"Oh, really? Well, you expected right, 'cause here I am, haha."

"What are you doing?"

"Going to eat," Lacus answered, his stomach rumbling as he said it.

"Ah, should I have expected any less?"

"You know me. Hungry all the time."

"Probably why you didn't have any money for rent," Her voice was filled with knowing.

"Probably," Lacus agreed.

"Well, it's been awhile since I last saw you…" Her voice trailed off, "It's pretty quiet here without you, I'm still not used to it."

"You should be glad, to be honest," Lacus laughed, waiting for the light to turn red so he could cross the street once again, "Now you're not going deaf because of my music."

"Haha!" She laughed. There was a small period of silence.

"So, ah...Would you mind coming over to visit, tomorrow? Around eleven thirty? We could have lunch together…"

"Oh, Ma, about that," Lacus said, running a hand through his hair, "I'm actually meeting up with someone tomorrow."

"Oh? When?"

"Noon o'clock."

"Ah...I understand, then. Who are they? Have you mentioned them to me before?"

"Nah, his name is René, just met him…"

"Ah," Her voice was suddenly filled with amusement, "Meeting with him for lunch tomorrow, then?"

"No, Ma, it's not like that," Lacus snickered as he crossed the street, "Just meeting him for work and stuff."

"Well, that's good, I suppose. At least you're being productive." She laughed again. "Oh, by the way, I keep forgetting to mention...Your aunt Aceline said that Chess is going to be coming to town…"

"Is she really?" Lacus frowned, trying to recall which one Chess was. Aunt Aceline had, like, twelve kids. "Uhh…..She's...The, uh…"

"The third oldest. With purple hair like ours."

"Oh, yeah! That one. Chessie. I remember her, now. Where's she staying, then?"

"Ah, about that…" Lacus paused as his mother's voice trailed off once again.

"She's going to stay at my place, isn't she?"

"I'm sorry, but I'd prefer it over her staying in some place shady, so I told your aunt she could stay at your place," His mother said apologetically. "She's supposed to be coming around noon o'clock on Monday."

" _Maaaaaa,"_ Lacus groaned. "I hardly even _know_ Chess."

"She's a very fine young lady," His mother assured him, "She's very similar to you-she really, really enjoys food, nearly as much as you do, and took art class in high school. The new hospital in town requires nurses, and aunt Aceline said it was the perfect opportunity for-"

"Does Chess even want to be here?" Lacus questioned. His mother didn't answer.

"Well," Lacus sighed after a few seconds, "I've got to go, Ma. My phone is almost dead."

This was a lie.

"Okay, dear," She said, and hung up. Lacus slipped his phone back into his pocket, disgruntled. Great. Another person to pay rent for.

That hospital better pay well.


End file.
